Chapter 31: The Legend Of The Legendary Librarian (5)
If I had wanted Yumir to tread the path of a villain, I would probably have recommended a Western-style costume instead of a Hanbok.
[Walk your own path! Believe in the maple syrup flowing in your veins!]
Yumir was a foreigner.
Just from the visible features, she had blonde hair and blue eyes, a typical foreigner appearance.
Even if she wore a foreign-designed suit or clothing similar to Dodjirider’s design and got criticized for it, in her home country, they would cheer, ‘Wow, you can even feel our maple syrup’s spirit in that outfit from Korea!’
[Did you eventually drop out of the academy?]
[Teacher….]
[Come with me. I will help you take revenge on Korea, which has tormented you, and those who have driven you to despair.]
In that case, I would undoubtedly be able to more easily draw Yumir to Gyeolsa’s side.
However,
I believed.
I believed in the potential of all the selfish individuals on this Sejong Island, in this country, on this land.
‘Because humans are garbage.’
Whether Yumir wore a Hanbok or a wedding dress, the people of this island would invariably view her as a ‘foreigner’.
Some who value tradition might say this.
[As one who speaks our language on our land, how can we discriminate just because one’s nose is bigger and hair color is different?]
Who was it?
Something a village leader said about Hamel, who was shipwrecked in Joseon.
I didn’t remember the exact origin, but if a person lived in Korea, spoke Korean, and lived for Korea, that person was Korean-
[That’s an old story! It’s different now! Can we call the foreigners who come from overseas, suck up the mana buff flowing in Korean land, and then go back to their countries Koreans?!]
We could not.
The viewpoint that all superhumans from abroad were ‘strangers who will eventually return to their countries’ existed, so foreigners inevitably faced rejection.
Even if they marry Koreans, if they didn’t spend many years showing deep immersion in Korean culture, it would be considered, ‘They will eventually run away with marriage fraud!’ Could a foreigner really live healthily and for a long time here?
‘She will come to despise this country on her own, even if I don’t provoke it.’
If even I, who had only spent half a year here, felt disgusted, can Yumir really not feel disgusted when looking at the people of this land?
I didn’t think so.
“So, Yumir, are these books enough?”
“Yes. Thank you for finding these books despite being busy.”
“Not at all. It’s nothing. You’re a student, after all.”
I brought five books on Hanbok that I had selected for Yumir and loaned them to her.
“If there’s anything you’re stuck on, come find me. You can also ask for help from those around you. If you tell them you’re making a costume based on Hanbok, they will all help you.”
“Thank you, teacher! Oh, teacher, umm…”
Yumir carefully asked while putting the books in her bag.
“Do you have time over the weekend?”
“Weekend?”
“Yes. Last time you bought me a meal, I wanted to return the favor.”
“… You’re not going to cause another incident, are you?”
Given that an incident occurred as soon as we went to the restaurant, I couldn’t help but suspect I might get caught up in another one.
“It won’t happen. There’s no way someone goes on a rampage every weekend. Especially at the exact moment and place where we are eating.”
“Well, there’s this thing called intuition. And I’m sorry, but I have prior engagements over the weekend.”
“Prior engagements?”
“Yes.”
This was not an excuse.
I really did have a prior engagement, and I had been put in a position where I must go somewhere on Sunday.
“Um…. then let’s have a meal next time you’re available. Then I can show you the Hanbok costume I’ve designed. Promise, okay?”
“Understood, Yumir. I’m looking forward to it. Yumir’s Hanbok costume.”
“Yes!”
Yumir left with a broad smile.
‘So full of energy.’
She was a very cheerful girl.
However, how long that cheerfulness would last while living on Sejong Island was questionable.
Yumir’s situation wasn’t one where she only needed to concern herself with her own persona.
She also needed to consider the entity she transformed into, ‘Solar Platina’.
Click.
I pulled out my smartphone and browsed another online community.
This was a darker corner of the internet, far from where people generally respected each other and held decent conversations. The default here was to use informal language, and asking about each other’s parents wasn’t unusual.
[Yumir? Her face seems nice. She’s a freshman in college this year.]
[I saw her when I was passing by, she’s the top beauty among the freshmen.]
[Bust of the Year… BOAT….]
[But after a few days, I noticed she eats lunch alone.]
[→I could feed her something delicious( ?° ?? ?°)]
There were places where conversations about Yumir occurred, blatantly ignoring privacy rights.
[How can her name be Solar Platina LOL]
[Seeing the Goblin restrain her, she seems really strong, but just looking at her knight concept on Sejong Island, you can tell her character??]
[We should charge her with obscenity. If you’re wearing armor, shouldn’t you wear full armor? I’d accept if it was a bikini armor. LOL]
[Why can’t she use magic? What could be the reason?]
Public discussions about the golden knight, Solar Platina, were occurring everywhere.
‘I have to deal with stress from both sides.’
If one were like Snow White, who revealed their face directly, the hero and the individual would be identified as the same. But when you hide your identity like this, you have to receive evaluations from both sides separately.
‘She shouldn’t be doing something like ego surfing.’
It would be better to avoid getting hurt because of needless searching for information about herself on internet communities.
‘For now.’
‘She’ll inevitably have to reveal herself someday.’
There was a reason for the phrase ‘nang jung ji chu’ (hiding one’s candle under a bushel) to exist.
No matter how much she pretended to be an E-rank, if her power was close to S-rank, it was inevitable that she couldn’t hide it for life.
Especially if she wished to walk the path of a ‘hero’, it was bound to be discovered by someone, someday.
Even that superhuman who transformed with an alien spoon couldn’t completely hide his identity. How could Yumir do better?
However, she could hide her identity and achieve what she wants.
I didn’t know what Yumir wished for, but if she could live her life as a ‘hero’ without being discovered.
‘The distinction between one’s self as a hero and as an individual. To perfectly achieve this is indeed the ‘ideal’ of a superpowered being.’
No one knew the identity of their everyday self, but as a hero, they could help people.
If Yumir had such thoughts,
“…I didn’t plan to help, but I keep ending up doing it.”
It was true for Baek Seol-hee.
It was true for Yumir.
I felt more like I was really helping them as a librarian rather than as an executive of some evil organization.
‘I hope this help will be beneficial to me later.’
If.
Yumir became a very strong hero, and I, defeated as the Goblin, was captured by her.
[Hehe, Teacher Do. You can’t go outside now. Now, I’ll take care of everything. Eating, sleeping, I’ll help with everything…? Because you have to pay back the favor you received. Huahhh….]
“…What?”
Some sort of thought flashed through my mind.
Why?
Why did I imagine myself being imprisoned by Yumir?
“…….”
Indeed.
Maybe it was because I kept working in this basement level 2, where nobody visited. It felt like my mind was becoming murky from the lack of sunlight.
‘The working environment is poor.’
Was it because it’s a basement?
It felt like my mind was becoming blurry.
“…Ah.”
It couldn’t be.
Yumir was such a good student.
Evening.
Yumir returned to her dormitory.
For some reason, her room was a two-person room, but no one else was living with her.
[I’m uncomfortable living with others, so I’ll find a separate room and move out.]
[Don’t take it too hard. You wouldn’t know as you came from abroad; gathering foreigners together doesn’t give a good impression to the people here in Sejong Island.]
[I’ve finished talking with the dormitory supervisor. Don’t worry. But since we’re both adults, let’s keep the basic etiquette. Make sure nothing disgraceful happens in the room I chose to stay in. You understand, right?]
The person who was supposed to be her roommate moved out to a separate room instead of staying in the dormitory.
She didn’t have any particular thoughts about this matter.
Thanks to this, she could freely come in and out of her room without revealing her identity, and she could also do such things at her leisure.
“Hmm….”
Using something similar to a black cloak as a blanket, she rolled around in her bed, flipping through the books she borrowed from the library.
“A Hanbok design…”
A concept like a ‘daughter-in-law’.
Just hearing the name makes her heart flutter and excited, and at the same time, one concept was decided.
“This is…my design.”
Yumir spread a book open.
“‘Pye-baek’. Hmm, this is quite interesting.”
Despite Korea beginning to emphasize its traditional culture, one thing hadn’t changed even after the beginning of the new millennium and the 25 years that had passed since then.
[Weddings should still be held in a wedding hall, wearing a wedding dress, right?]
The modern way of declaring that a man and a woman had become one as bride and groom was still maintained.
Of course, after the wedding ceremony, changing into Hanbok for the Pye-baek greetings had practically become a norm, but having a traditional wedding with proper rites and setting up a ceremonial table was ‘rare’.
“A concept based on Pye-baek clothing… Hmm? Ah, this seems a bit…”
Yumir lifted her legs while lying down.
“…covering this isn’t courtesy towards the teacher.”
With a confident face, Yumir moved her bare legs as if synchronizing.
“Let’s say the skirt is short…”
Yumir picked up the cloak.
“……The most important thing is, of course, that.”
In the mirror, where she turned her head,
The golden knight that shimmered like a phantom disappeared, and a woman in a new form of clothing shimmered like a mist.
As if,
It was a scholar passing by, just like that.
“Ah, maybe this isn’t right.”
Yumir waved her hand toward the mirror.
“… it’s really difficult.”
Grumbling.
“What should I do, partner?”
In the mirror, a golden dragon with sparkling golden pupils shone brilliantly.
“Do as you please? Hmm… Something Korean… Ah!”
Yumir clapped and rose from her bed.
“That’s it! Hehe, yes, that was it.”
Yumir brought her hands together and slowly smiled.
“…Since it’s Sejong Island, should I create a new design that suits Sejong Island?”
Grumbling.
“Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven.”
Grr?!
The golden dragon in the mirror, surprised, vigorously shook its head.
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